The Chicago International Film Festival taking place October 15 to 29, 2015, announced the lineup for its New Directors Competition. Films in the New Directors Competition are receiving their World, North American, or U.S. Premiere at the Festival.
This diverse lineup includes the stunningly composed GREATER THINGS receiving its World Premiere; EMBERS (pictured above), a thought-provoking sci-fi film having its NorthAmerican Premiere; HECTOR with powerhouse actor Peter Mullan (War Horse) in his best performance in years; SPARROWS, a bittersweet coming-of-age story about learning to stand up for yourself; THE MIDDLE DISTANCE from Chicago director Patrick Underwood receiving its World Premiere; and THE THIN YELLOW LINE produced by Guillermo del Toro.
2015 Chicago International Film Festival New Directors Competition: first and second feature films
Embers
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Country: USA
Director: Claire Carré
Synopsis: After a global neurological epidemic, survivors exist with no long-term memory, left adrift in a world no one can fully remember. A young woman in quarantine yearns for freedom, while two lovers, a young criminal, and an abandoned child struggle for love and connection. Like Memento en masse, this thought-provoking sci-fi film elegantly imagines a world where our past isn’t there to guide us.
Greater Things
WORLD PREMIERE
Country: UK/Japan
Director: Vahid Hakimzadeh
Synopsis: In this stunningly composed meditation on space and human relationships, an adrift Iranian architect, a disengaged Japanese couple, and a Lithuanian mixed martial arts fighter search for connection in modern Japan. From the stylishly designed shops of Tokyo to a minimalist glass suburban home to a mysterious tree house in the woods, Greater Things reveals the strange places we inhabit, and how they can both unite and divide us.
Hector
USA PREMIERE
Country: UK
Director: Jake Gavin
Synopsis: Powerhouse actor Peter Mullan (War Horse) delivers his best performance in years as a homeless man journeying across the UK to reach his relatives for Christmas. First-time director Jake Gavin deftly mines humor and warmth from the seemingly bleak premise, as Hector finds family in the unlikeliest of places. Sometimes, simply putting one foot in front of the other can be its own triumph.
The Here After (Efterskalv)
USA PREMIERE
Country: Sweden
Director: Magnus von Horn
Synopsis: After serving time in juvenile detention, teenager John returns to the strained confines of the home he shares with his father and younger brother. As he attempts to reintegrate into home and school life, the shadow of his violent past haunts him, his family, and their scarred community. Tensions mount until John has no choice but to face the pain he has caused.
The Homecoming (Blóðberg)
USA PREMIERE
Country: Iceland
Director: Björn Hlynur Haraldsson
Synopsis: Self-help author Gunnar’s humdrum routine is shaken when he realizes his son’s new fiancée may be a bit closer to him than they think. He must choose between keeping his secret or protecting his son. A dark, unpredictable “family” comedy ensues, as everyone scrambles to recover their grip on the truth.
Magallanes
USA PREMIERE
Country: Peru
Director: Salvador del Solar
Synopsis: Peruvian actor Salvador del Solar makes a remarkably confident directorial debut with the gripping Magallanes. A misfortune-plagued cabbie (Damián Alcázar) quietly bears the emotional and psychological scars of his military
service – but his trauma resurfaces when a woman from his past takes a seat in his taxi. In this unflinching tale of a man’s dangerous quest for redemption, the road to atonement is a bumpy one.
The Middle Distance
WORLD PREMIERE
Country: USA
Director: Patrick Underwood
Synopsis: Womanizing workaholic Neil returns to Michigan to reunite with his brother after their father dies. As they try to renovate and sell the family home, their interactions are as chilly as the frost-covered February landscape. But Neil’s façade thaws under the glow of his brother’s charismatic fiancée. With his feature debut, Chicago writer-director Patrick Underwood crafts a big-hearted romantic melodrama about what it means to rebuild.
Nahid
USA PREMIERE
Country: Iran
Director: Ida Panahandeh
Synopsis: Nahid, a young divorcée, is allowed to live with her son, but only on the condition that she does not remarry. Hoping to move in with the man she loves, Nahid considers another option called “temporary marriage.” But is this legal loophole a salvation or a curse? Starring A Separation’s Sareh Bayat, this accomplished Cannes Film Festival award winner weighs the rewards of domestic security against the sacrifices of personal freedoms.
Orphans of Eldorado (Órfãos do Eldorado)
USA PREMIERE
Country: Brazil
Director: Guilherme Coelho
Synopsis: In this sensual, mythical tale of obsession, a man returns to his hometown by the Amazon, where he resumes a dangerous old affair and begins another one with a woman who seems to emerge and disappear from the river itself. An immersive film that plunges into Oedipal desires and Brazilian legends.
Red Spider (Czerwony pajak)
USA PREMIERE
Country: Poland
Director: Marcin Koszalka
Synopsis: In this unconventional, unsettling serial killer film, a gifted young athlete develops a dangerous fascination with brutal murders occurring across Communist-era Krakow. With breathtaking cinematography and striking period detail, renowned cinematographer and documentarian Marcin Koszalka brings the paranoia of the time period to life, forgoing sensationalist violence in favor of a haunting, disquieting look at guilt and madness.
Road to La Paz (Camino a La Paz)
USA PREMIERE
Country: Argentina
Director: Francinso Varone
Synopsis: Unemployed and adrift, 30-something Sebastian (Rodrigo de la Serna, The Motorcycle Diaries) takes on work as a private driver almost on a whim. When elderly Muslim client Jalil offers Sebastian a large sum to drive him to La Paz, Bolivia, the two set off on a life-changing 2,000 mile journey. By turns heartwarming and hilarious, this road movie spans generational, cultural, and religious divides on a tour through the South American continent.
Sparrows
USA PREMIERE
Country: Iceland
Director: Rúnar Rúnarsson
Synopsis: Forced to return to the remote village of his childhood to live with his estranged father, teenager Ari has never felt more isolated. While his hard-partying dad and loving but frail grandmother do their best to mend the broken past, local bullies and rough living leave Ari struggling to find his place. Unfolding with pathos and understated emotion, Sparrows is a bittersweet coming-of-age story about learning to stand up for yourself.
The Thin Yellow Line (La delgada línea amarilla)
USA PREMIERE
Country: Mexico
Director: Ceslo García
Synopsis: This hilarious Guillermo del Toro-produced buddy movie follows five men tasked with painting the median line on a lonely rural road. Good-natured male bonding blends with gorgeous landscape cinematography in this thoughtful portrayal of a day’s honest work in modern Mexico.
Underground Fragrance (Di Xia Xiang)
USA PREMIERE
Country: China
Director: Pengfei Song
Synopsis: On the rapidly urbanizing outskirts of Beijing, Yong Le spends his days scouring homes scheduled for demolition for furniture to pawn and his nights in the sub-basement of a high-rise apartment building. After an accident blinds him, a nightclub dancer, hoping to secure a day job with a real estate developer, nurses him back to health. Produced by Tsai Ming-Liang, the film adapts his signature meditative social realism, revealing a world in which everyone, literally and figuratively, is looking to move up.-
2015 Chicago International Film Festival New Directors Competition Lineup Revealed
The Chicago International Film Festival taking place October 15 to 29, 2015, announced the lineup for its New Directors Competition. Films in the New Directors Competition are receiving their World, North American, or U.S. Premiere at the Festival.
This diverse lineup includes the stunningly composed GREATER THINGS receiving its World Premiere; EMBERS (pictured above), a thought-provoking sci-fi film having its NorthAmerican Premiere; HECTOR with powerhouse actor Peter Mullan (War Horse) in his best performance in years; SPARROWS, a bittersweet coming-of-age story about learning to stand up for yourself; THE MIDDLE DISTANCE from Chicago director Patrick Underwood receiving its World Premiere; and THE THIN YELLOW LINE produced by Guillermo del Toro.
2015 Chicago International Film Festival New Directors Competition: first and second feature films
Embers
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Country: USA
Director: Claire Carré
Synopsis: After a global neurological epidemic, survivors exist with no long-term memory, left adrift in a world no one can fully remember. A young woman in quarantine yearns for freedom, while two lovers, a young criminal, and an abandoned child struggle for love and connection. Like Memento en masse, this thought-provoking sci-fi film elegantly imagines a world where our past isn’t there to guide us.
Greater Things
WORLD PREMIERE
Country: UK/Japan
Director: Vahid Hakimzadeh
Synopsis: In this stunningly composed meditation on space and human relationships, an adrift Iranian architect, a disengaged Japanese couple, and a Lithuanian mixed martial arts fighter search for connection in modern Japan. From the stylishly designed shops of Tokyo to a minimalist glass suburban home to a mysterious tree house in the woods, Greater Things reveals the strange places we inhabit, and how they can both unite and divide us.
Hector
USA PREMIERE
Country: UK
Director: Jake Gavin
Synopsis: Powerhouse actor Peter Mullan (War Horse) delivers his best performance in years as a homeless man journeying across the UK to reach his relatives for Christmas. First-time director Jake Gavin deftly mines humor and warmth from the seemingly bleak premise, as Hector finds family in the unlikeliest of places. Sometimes, simply putting one foot in front of the other can be its own triumph.
The Here After (Efterskalv)
USA PREMIERE
Country: Sweden
Director: Magnus von Horn
Synopsis: After serving time in juvenile detention, teenager John returns to the strained confines of the home he shares with his father and younger brother. As he attempts to reintegrate into home and school life, the shadow of his violent past haunts him, his family, and their scarred community. Tensions mount until John has no choice but to face the pain he has caused.
The Homecoming (Blóðberg)
USA PREMIERE
Country: Iceland
Director: Björn Hlynur Haraldsson
Synopsis: Self-help author Gunnar’s humdrum routine is shaken when he realizes his son’s new fiancée may be a bit closer to him than they think. He must choose between keeping his secret or protecting his son. A dark, unpredictable “family” comedy ensues, as everyone scrambles to recover their grip on the truth.
Magallanes
USA PREMIERE
Country: Peru
Director: Salvador del Solar
Synopsis: Peruvian actor Salvador del Solar makes a remarkably confident directorial debut with the gripping Magallanes. A misfortune-plagued cabbie (Damián Alcázar) quietly bears the emotional and psychological scars of his military
service – but his trauma resurfaces when a woman from his past takes a seat in his taxi. In this unflinching tale of a man’s dangerous quest for redemption, the road to atonement is a bumpy one.
The Middle Distance
WORLD PREMIERE
Country: USA
Director: Patrick Underwood
Synopsis: Womanizing workaholic Neil returns to Michigan to reunite with his brother after their father dies. As they try to renovate and sell the family home, their interactions are as chilly as the frost-covered February landscape. But Neil’s façade thaws under the glow of his brother’s charismatic fiancée. With his feature debut, Chicago writer-director Patrick Underwood crafts a big-hearted romantic melodrama about what it means to rebuild.
Nahid
USA PREMIERE
Country: Iran
Director: Ida Panahandeh
Synopsis: Nahid, a young divorcée, is allowed to live with her son, but only on the condition that she does not remarry. Hoping to move in with the man she loves, Nahid considers another option called “temporary marriage.” But is this legal loophole a salvation or a curse? Starring A Separation’s Sareh Bayat, this accomplished Cannes Film Festival award winner weighs the rewards of domestic security against the sacrifices of personal freedoms.
Orphans of Eldorado (Órfãos do Eldorado)
USA PREMIERE
Country: Brazil
Director: Guilherme Coelho
Synopsis: In this sensual, mythical tale of obsession, a man returns to his hometown by the Amazon, where he resumes a dangerous old affair and begins another one with a woman who seems to emerge and disappear from the river itself. An immersive film that plunges into Oedipal desires and Brazilian legends.
Red Spider (Czerwony pajak)
USA PREMIERE
Country: Poland
Director: Marcin Koszalka
Synopsis: In this unconventional, unsettling serial killer film, a gifted young athlete develops a dangerous fascination with brutal murders occurring across Communist-era Krakow. With breathtaking cinematography and striking period detail, renowned cinematographer and documentarian Marcin Koszalka brings the paranoia of the time period to life, forgoing sensationalist violence in favor of a haunting, disquieting look at guilt and madness.
Road to La Paz (Camino a La Paz)
USA PREMIERE
Country: Argentina
Director: Francinso Varone
Synopsis: Unemployed and adrift, 30-something Sebastian (Rodrigo de la Serna, The Motorcycle Diaries) takes on work as a private driver almost on a whim. When elderly Muslim client Jalil offers Sebastian a large sum to drive him to La Paz, Bolivia, the two set off on a life-changing 2,000 mile journey. By turns heartwarming and hilarious, this road movie spans generational, cultural, and religious divides on a tour through the South American continent.
Sparrows
USA PREMIERE
Country: Iceland
Director: Rúnar Rúnarsson
Synopsis: Forced to return to the remote village of his childhood to live with his estranged father, teenager Ari has never felt more isolated. While his hard-partying dad and loving but frail grandmother do their best to mend the broken past, local bullies and rough living leave Ari struggling to find his place. Unfolding with pathos and understated emotion, Sparrows is a bittersweet coming-of-age story about learning to stand up for yourself.
The Thin Yellow Line (La delgada línea amarilla)
USA PREMIERE
Country: Mexico
Director: Ceslo García
Synopsis: This hilarious Guillermo del Toro-produced buddy movie follows five men tasked with painting the median line on a lonely rural road. Good-natured male bonding blends with gorgeous landscape cinematography in this thoughtful portrayal of a day’s honest work in modern Mexico.
Underground Fragrance (Di Xia Xiang)
USA PREMIERE
Country: China
Director: Pengfei Song
Synopsis: On the rapidly urbanizing outskirts of Beijing, Yong Le spends his days scouring homes scheduled for demolition for furniture to pawn and his nights in the sub-basement of a high-rise apartment building. After an accident blinds him, a nightclub dancer, hoping to secure a day job with a real estate developer, nurses him back to health. Produced by Tsai Ming-Liang, the film adapts his signature meditative social realism, revealing a world in which everyone, literally and figuratively, is looking to move up.
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Jeff Lipsky’s MAD WOMEN Sets Digital Release Date of October 10th | TRAILER
Jeff Lipsky’s controversial and critically acclaimed sixth feature “Mad Women” will be digitally released, for rent or download, on Amazon and Vimeo-on-Demand, on October 10th.
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2015 AFI Latin American Film Festival to Open with Lesbian Romantic Drama SAND DOLLARS | TRAILER
The 2015 AFI Latin American Film Festival taking place at the historic AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland from September 17 to October 7, opens with the romantic drama SAND DOLLARS, based on the novel “Les Dollars des Sables” by Jean-Noël Pancrazi. SAND DOLLARS is the fourth film by directors Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas (COCOCHI, JEAN GENTIL), and stars Geraldine Chaplin (DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, THE ORPHANAGE) as a wealthy foreign tourist who is head over heels for a much-younger local woman. The film was recently announced as the Dominican Republic’s Official Academy Award® Submission.
In the picturesque seaside town of Las Terrenas, French expat Anne (Geraldine Chaplin, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO) has fallen in love with the much younger local, Noeli (Yanet Mojica). But the feeling isn’t exactly mutual — Noeli makes a living scamming off the kindness of tourists. She shares her earnings with her boyfriend, whom she passes off to Anne as her brother. Things become complicated when Anne promises to take Noeli back to France with her.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HeEPnn7ioE
The Closing Night film, TRASH, directed by Stephen Daldry (BILLY ELLIOT, THE HOURS) and written by Richard Curtis (LOVE ACTUALLY, WAR HORSE), follows three trash-picking boys from Rio de Janeiro who team up with two American missionaries, Martin Sheen (THE WEST WING) and Rooney Mara (THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, THE SOCIAL NETWORK), to uncover political corruption.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN08JrXZ9eM
Other highlights include MESSI, a docudrama about the world’s greatest soccer player; the U.S. premiere of Colombia’s ALIAS MARÍA, straight from its debut at the Cannes Film Festival; Kristen Wiig (BRIDESMAIDS) in NASTY BABY, a Brooklyn-set dark comedy from Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Silva; and WITHOUT WINGS, the first U.S. feature to be made in Cuba since 1959.
The complete schedule of the 2015 AFI Latin American Film Festival is available online.
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Doc’n Roll Film Festival to Host Preview Screening of Sleaford Mods – Invisible Britain | VIDEO
Doc’n Roll Film Festival which runs from September 25 until October4, at Picturehouse Central in London, will screen a special advanced preview of the crowd-funded new music documentary Sleaford Mods – Invisible Britain, a film shot on Sleaford Mods’ 2015 UK tour about the band, the fans and the state of modern Britain.
Directed by Nathan Hannawin and Paul Sng, Sleaford Mods – Invisible Britain follows Sleaford Mods on their recent tour of the UK and visits the neglected, broken down and boarded up parts of the country that most would prefer to ignore. Sleaford Mods – Invisible Britain aims to tell the story of how one of the most relevant British band in years became an unlikely success story through their expression of pent up rage and anger aimed at ineffectual politicians and the current state of affairs. Taking its cue from the likes of Patrick Keiller’s extraordinary Robinson Trilogy and the wanderings of Iain Sinclair, the documentary is a combination of raw footage of the band, interviews with fans, and a look at what individuals and communities are doing to resist so-called austerity measures. The filmmakers will attend the screening on 3 October for a post-film Q&A session. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pZc3UOG1y0
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The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble Doc to Get Spring 2016 Release | VIDEO
The new documentary film The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble set to World Premiere at the upcoming 2015 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) have been acquired by The Orchard and HBO for release in the U.S. The Orchard is planning a theatrical release in the Spring of 2016 with an HBO premiere to follow.
From Morgan Neville, the director of the Oscar®-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom and the critically-acclaimed Best of Enemies, the new film The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble tells the extraordinary story of an international musical collective created by legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The film follows this group of diverse instrumentalists, vocalists, composers, arrangers, visual artists and storytellers as they explore the power of music to preserve tradition, shape cultural evolution and inspire hope.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjrILQproKU
“What could be better than being involved in a film that erases differences in the name of music,” commented Sheila Nevins, President, HBO Documentary Films.
“Morgan’s film is an inspiring and soulful experience we are proud to be a part of ” said The Orchard’s SVP of Film and TV, Paul Davidson.
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Chicago International Film Festival Reveals City & State Lineup of Local Films
The 51st Chicago International Film Festival, taking place October 15 to 29, 2015, announced the film lineup for this year’s City & State program. The City & State program of narrative, documentary, and short films celebrates Illinois’ rich filmmaking tradition and showcases the best films with Illinois roots. Each Official Selection is eligible for the Chicago Award.
With the largest number of local film selections to date, this year’s City & State program is led by three World Premieres: 1) a documentary about Chicago’s beloved “Breakfast Queen,” 2) a portrait of the most sampled artist in hip hop, and 3) a big-hearted family drama.
The City & State program highlights the trendiest Chicago restaurants, a funny and heartbreakingly honest film from Chicagoan Stephen Cone, and an Evanston-set drama with a commanding performance from Taryn Manning (“Orange is the New Black”). The program also includes the return of local Festival alumni including directors Bradley Bischoff, Joel Benjamin, Jack C. Newell, and Malik Bader, who also stars in Bishoff’s Nomad.
FILMS
All films listed will receive their Chicago premiere at the Festival unless otherwise indicated.
Breakfast At Ina’s
WORLD PREMIERE
Country: USA
Director: Mercedes Kane
Synopsis: Famous for its Heavenly Hots (pancakes topped with fruit compote), Ina’s was a Chicago breakfast institution. Every customer received a warm welcome from proprietor and chef Ina Pinkney, the “Breakfast Queen.” After 33 years in the restaurant business, Pinkney retired in 2013. Following the restaurant’s final month, Breakfast at Ina’s celebrates a beloved Chicago eatery and a woman who achieved her dream against the odds.
Cash Only
USA PREMIERE
Country: USA
Director: Malik Bader
Synopsis: In this gritty Detroit-set thriller, Elvis Martini (writer-star Nickola Shreli, in a gripping performance) is a single Albanian father and landlord trying to do the right thing. But since he’s in debt to both bookies and his daughter’s school, Elvis needs to come up with some serious money fast. Chicago director Malik Bader delivers a riveting and assured genre film, complete with rich cultural details and a shockingly gruesome finale.
For Grace
Country: USA
Director: Kevin Pang and Mark Helenowski
Synopsis: After cooking his way through Chicago’s top kitchens, renowned Chef Curtis Duffy begins plans for his dream establishment, Grace. A delicious look at what it takes to build one of the world’s greatest restaurants, and the complex story of a man forging a new future out of his traumatic past.
Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party
Country: USA
Director: Stephen Cone
Synopsis: Henry’s turning 17, and he thinks he might be gay. But he’s not telling his pastor father, who’s throwing him a pool party. Soon, school mates and church friends are spending a sunny, hormonal afternoon together in their swimsuits. Unfolding over the course of one day, this funny and heartbreakingly honest portrait from Chicagoan Stephen Cone explores the intersection between devout faith and burgeoning sexuality.
A Light Beneath Their Feet
Country: USA
Director: Valerie Weiss
Synopsis: In a commanding performance, Taryn Manning (“Orange is the New Black”) plays an Evanston mother, wrestling with bipolar disorder and an imminent empty nest. Dedicated daughter Beth has a bright future ahead, but must decide if she will stay near home to care for her unpredictable mom or follow her own path. Emotionally raw and bracingly honest, this coming-of-age drama balances the pull of family obligation against personal aspirations.
The Middle Distance
WORLD PREMIERE
Country: USA
Director: Patrick Underwood
Synopsis: Womanizing workaholic Neil returns to Michigan to reunite with his brother after their father dies. As they try to renovate and sell the family home, their interactions are as chilly as the frost-covered February landscape. But Neil’s façade thaws under the glow of his brother’s charismatic fiancée. With his feature debut, Chicago writer-director Patrick Underwood crafts a big-hearted romantic melodrama about what it means to rebuild.
Open Tables
Country: USA
Director: Jack C. Newell
Synopsis: Food and conversation abound in this sumptuous comedy from Chicago writer-director-actor Jack C. Newell. Over dinner, friends trade wild stories about relationships, including a woman who falls in love with an amnesiac, a couple who met through their former partners, and an unforgettably sexy trip to Paris. Filmed locally, with improvisational dialogue and a cast plucked from the city’s improv scene, Open Tables is a smorgasbord of fun.
Radical Grace
Country: USA
Director: Rebecca Parrish
Synopsis: Politically outspoken and unapologetically feminist, the “Nuns on the Bus” protest group rebels against a Vatican-ordered censure by embracing social activism as a form of spiritual practice. An indelible exploration of the evolving views changing the face of Catholicism under the leadership of Pope Francis, Chicago-based filmmaker Rebecca Parrish’s uplifting, humanistic documentary is a call for equality that transcends boundaries.
Syl Johnson: Any Way The Wind Blows
WORLD PREMIERE
Country: USA
Director: Rob Hatch-Miller
Synopsis: Velvet-voiced soul singer Syl Johnson struggled for decades before leaving the biz in the 1980s to open a Chicago fried-fish chain. Since then, he’s become one of the most-sampled artists in hip-hop. With a lively soundtrack, this buoyant world premiere documentary celebrates one man who can’t stop the music.
Shorts Program: City & State
City & State shorts program featuring fiction, animation, and documentary works from local talent. In Nomad (directed by Brad Bischoff), a husband tries to take his wife out for the night, but their guests stand in his way. Discover a forbidden planet in Chasm (directed by Joel Benjamin). The documentary I Am the Passenger (directed by Todd Lauterbach) attempts to fill a hole in the filmmaker’s memory. In Unknown Unknown (directed by Ed Flynn) grocery shopping has never felt so off. Old-time radio undergoes an extreme makeover in Retrocognition (directed by Eric Patrick). An ominous announcement turns a young woman’s world upside down in Marlene (directed by Andy Berlin). Nick Santore (directed by Jake Zalutsky) documents a bittersweet relationship between a father and his son. The Same River Twice (directed by Weijia Ma) infuses childhood memories with life and color. 93 min
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Korean actor Song Kangho and Afghanistan actress Marina Golbahari to Host Opening Ceremonies for 20th Busan International Film Festival
Korean actor Song Kangho and Afghanistan actress Marina Golbahari will host the Opening Ceremony of the 20th Busan International Film Festival at the Busan Cinema Center on October 1, 2015.
Song Kangho will be hosting the opening ceremony at Busan International Film Festival for the second time since 2001. Song has captivated audiences with performances in films of various genres including Joint Security Area(2000), The Host (2006), Secret Sunshine (2007) and The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008). He firmly established himself as an actor that audiences can rely on for high quality and popular films like Snowpiercer (2013), The Face Reader (2013), and The Attorney (2013). His recent work with director Lee Joon-ik, The Throne (2015) will be released soon. It will be a memorable event for the Festival to have him as the 20th anniversary host.
Marina Golbahari will be the second foreign actress to host the opening ceremony of Busan International Film Festival after Chinese actress Tang Wei in 2012. Though Afghan films are still unfamiliar to many audiences, filmmaking is actively taking place in Afghanistan despite harsh conditions. Osama (2003), which completely changed Marina’s life had the honor of being invited to Directors’ Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) and won her the Outstanding Younger Actor Award at Molodist International Film Festival in Ukraine and the Best Actress Award at the Cinemanila International Film Festival in Philippines. Osama was also invited and well-received at the 2003 Busan International Film Festival. This year, as the leading actress in Afghanistan who has eagerly engaged in acting under a violent environment, Marina will visit Busan to host the opening ceremony of the 20th Busan International Film Festival.
With an effort to highlight films and film professionals from all over Asia, including East Asia and Afghanistan, Busan International Film Festival welcomes Korean actor Song Kangho and Afghan actress Marina Golbahari as hosts to represent Asia.
The 20th Busan International Film Festival will screen its opening film Zubaan after the opening ceremony.
Major filmography of Song Kangho
The Foul King (2000), Joint Security Area (2000), Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), Memories of Murder (2003),The Host (2006), Secret Sunshine (2007), The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008), Thirst (2009), Secret Reunion(2010), Snowpiercer (2013), The Face Reader (2013), The Attorney (2013)
Major filmography of Marina Golbahari
Osama (2003), Opium War (2008), Act of Dishonor (2009), Soil and Coral (2013), Darya’s Story (2014)
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8 Films to Compete for New ‘ Cooperación Española Award ‘ at 63rd San Sebastian Festival
The 63rd San Sebastian Festival will award, for the first time, the new Cooperación Española Award to the producer of the Latin American Film that best contributes to human development, the eradication of poverty and the full exercise of human rights.
Any of the Ibero-American films selected for the Official Selection, New Directors and Horizontes Latinos sections can compete for the Award, to be decided by a 3-member jury.
Films eligible for the Award:
OFFICIAL SELECTION
EVA NO DUERME / EVA DOESN’T SLEEP
PABLO AGÜERO (ARGENTINA – FRANCE – SPAIN)
Evita Perón has died. She is the most loved, but also the most hated political figure of Argentina. A leading expert is given the task of embalming her. After months of hard work, the result is perfect. Meanwhile in Argentina, the coups come one after the other and some dictators want to delete Evita’s legacy from the people’s memory. Her body therefore becomes the focal point of clashes lasting for 25 years. 25 years during which Evita was a more powerful figure than any other living politician.
EL REY DE LA HABANA / THE KING OF HAVANA (pictured in main image above)
AGUSTÍ VILLARONGA (SPAIN – DOMINICAN REP.)
Agustí Villaronga adapts the novel of the same name by Pedro Juan Gutiérrez. Recently escaped from reformatory, young Reinaldo tries to get by in the streets of Havana in the late 90s, one of the worst decades for Cuban society. Hopes, disillusionment, rum, good humour and above all hunger, accompany him in his wanderings until he meets Magda and Yunisleidy, survivors like himself. In one or the other’s arms, he will try to escape the material and moral misery surrounding him, living love, passion, tenderness and uninhibited sex to the limit.
HORIZONTES LATINOS
EL ABRAZO DE LA SERPIENTE / EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT
CIRO GUERRA (COLOMBIA – ARGENTINA – VENEZUELA)
Premiered at the Cannes Festival Directors’ Fortnight, the latest film from Ciro Guerra tells the epic story of the first contact, encounter, approach, betrayal and, eventually, life-transcending friendship, between an Amazonian shaman and two Western explorers.
EL BOTÓN DE NÁCAR / THE PEARL BUTTON
PATRICIO GUZMÁN (FRANCE – SPAIN – CHILE)
Chilean filmmaker Patricio Guzmán talks to us in his latest documentary about water, the cosmos and ourselves, human beings. It all begins with the discovery of two mysterious buttons in the depths of the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Chile. Winner of the Silver Bear for Best Script at the Berlin Festival.
IXCANUL
JAYRO BUSTAMANTE (GUATEMALA – FRANCE)
María, a 17 year-old Mayan girl, lives and works with her family in a plantation on the Guatemalan plateau. Her days go by uneventfully until her parents arrange her marriage to the estate foreman, Ignacio. A film that landed a special mention at the last edition of Films in Progress and competed at the Berlin Festival, where it won the Alfred Bauer Award.
LA OBRA DEL SIGLO / THE PROJECT OF THE CENTURY
CARLOS M. QUINTELA (CUBA – ARGENTINA – GERMANY -SWITZERLAND)
Amidst a mosquito plague, Leonardo, struggling with the breakdown of his relationship, moves back to live with a grandfather who fights with everyone and everything, and a father living with the melancholy of the unfinished. Tiger Award-winner at the last Rotterdam Festival.
PAULINA
SANTIAGO MITRE (ARGENTINA – BRAZIL – FRANCE)
Paulina decides to leave her brilliant law career to teach in a downtrodden Argentinian region. In a hostile atmosphere, she will set about her pedagogical mission, even if it means losing her boyfriend and confrontation with her father. Winner of the Grand Prix and Fipresci Award at the last Cannes Festival Critics’ Week.
LA TIERRA Y LA SOMBRA / LAND AND SHADE
CÉSAR AUGUSTO ACEVEDO (COLOMBIA – CHILE – BRAZIL – NETHERLANDS – FRANCE)
Winner of the Caméra d’Or at the Cannes Festival, after having participated at the San Sebastian Co-Production Forum in 2013, this film portrays a family as they try to repair the fragile ties that bind them in the face of their imminent disappearance, brought about by the overwhelming power of progress.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger to be Honored at Zurich Film Festival, Fest to Screen Latest Film “MAGGIE” | TRAILER
Arnold Schwarzenegger will receive the coveted Golden Icon Award at this year’s Zurich Film Festival (ZFF), taking place September 24 to October 4, 2015.
The award is considered the Festival’s most prestigious symbol of recognition, awarded in appreciation of the lifetime achievements of an actor or actress.
In addition to receiving ZFF’s Golden Icon Award, Schwarzenegger will present his latest film, MAGGIE, and discuss his body of work in A Conversation With… Arnold Schwarzenegger’.
“We are extraordinarily proud to welcome Arnold Schwarzenegger one of Hollywood’s most iconic legends, to Zurich and are delighted that he will share his films and stories with our public,” said Zurich Film Festival Artistic Director Karl Spoerri. “Arnold has had a transformative career that no one in Hollywood can match and established himself as a global brand, even beyond the box office. We are honored to present him with our Golden Icon award at this year’s Festival.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cthHQnwk9zY
Image: Arnold Schwarzenegger with Abigail Breslin in ‘Maggie.’ Tracy Bennett/Roadside Attractions
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IFC Sets December Release Date for 3D drama EVERY THING WILL BE FINE Starring James Franco, Rachel McAdams | TRAILER
Wim Wenders‘ 3D drama EVERY THING WILL BE FINE which stars James Franco, Rachel McAdams, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Marie-Josée Croze, will be released in the US on December 4, 2015, via IFC Films.
In the film, which will have its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, a tragic car accident links the lives of a struggling writer (James Franco), his long-suffering girlfriend (Rachel McAdams), a grieving mother (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and a publisher’s assistant (Marie-Josée Croze).
The Quebec landscape provides a rich backdrop as Wenders casts his camera on an author coming to terms with a fatal car accident. Holed up in a cabin in the wintry wilds near Oka, Tomas (James Franco) is struggling with writer’s block. While driving in a ferocious blizzard, he hits and kills a young boy. This tragedy becomes the fulcrum for an agonizing reappraisal of his life. Tomas finds himself in an existential trap, caught between competing forces: his long-suffering girlfriend Sara (Rachel McAdams, also appearing at the Festival in Spotlight); the victim’s mother, Kate (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and older brother; and Ann (Marie-Josée Croze), an assistant at his publishing company. As the years slip by, Tomas revisits the scene of the accident in an attempt to make sense of it all, even as the rest of his life progresses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl62PplyZis
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Laurie Anderson’s HEART OF A DOG to be Released by Abramorama and HBO Documentary Films
Laurie Anderson’s HEART OF A DOG which will world premiere this weekend at the Telluride Film Festival, has been acquired by Abramorama and HBO Documentary Films for release in the U.S. Abramorama will release Heart of a Dog in theaters on October 21 in New York, followed by a national release, while HBO will air the film in 2016.
In addition to Telluride Film Festival, Heart of a Dog is set to screen at most of the upcoming major film festivals including Venice Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, New York Film Festival and San Sebastian Film Festival.
Renowned multidisciplinary artist Laurie Anderson returns with this lyrical and powerfully personal essay film that reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother, her beloved dog, and such diverse subjects as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings.Laurie Anderson’s eclectic career spans music, drawing, storytelling, performance, and more. She had a surprise hit with her 1981 song “O Superman,” was NASA’s first artist in residence, and toured internationally with her political performance-art piece Homeland. Her new feature film, Heart of a Dog, combines her multiple talents in a personal film essay. The dog of the title is her beloved rat terrier Lolabelle, who passed away in 2011 during a succession of family deaths that also included Anderson’s mother, Mary Louise, and husband, Lou Reed. Anderson’s close bond with Lolabelle underlies the film’s stream of consciousness, which flows through subjects as diverse as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings. She lingers particularly over the concept of thebardo, described in the Tibetan Book of the Dead as the forty-nine-day period between death and rebirth. Overlaying the film’s tapestry of images — which include Anderson’s animation, 8mm home-movie footage, and lots of lovingly photographed dogs — is her melodic narration, full of warmth, humour, and insight. Anderson’s approach has a kinship with that of filmmaker Chris Marker (Sans Soleil), with a similar flair for connecting disparate themes and images. She quotes from other writers and artists, including Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein, Gordon Matta-Clark, and David Foster Wallace, whose line “every love story is a ghost story” resonates strongly in this work. If those references sound philosophical, so is this film. But it’s also dreamy, comic, and intensely emotional. Like Anderson, it defies easy categorization.
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2015 Hamptons International Film Festival to Open with Paolo Sorrentino’s YOUTH; Unveils Long Island Films + Conflict & Resolution Films
Paolo Sorrentino’s YOUTH will be the Opening Night film of the 2015 Hamptons International Film Festival in Southampton.